Anybody Close Have a Wehman?

[Steve Hamley]

Folks,

I've thought about one for a long time mostly to use with my 4x5 tripod when hiking, but hesitated to order one without ever having seen one, even though Bruce offered me money back if I didn't like it.

So, does anyone near Knoxville, TN have one I could drive over and see? I'm thinking Asheville NC to Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA to Lexington, KY.

Any other ideas short of driving to Rockford (the web site shows them in stock but Bruce hasn't responded to last week's e-mail)?

Thanks much, Steve

[jeroldharter]

I was in the same boat recently. Fortunately, I was able to drive to Rockford and check them out. Bruce is a good guy, very helpful. I too found it helpful to see one in person, especially to figure out how to use the rear, off-axis swing (or whatever it is called). It works great, quick and easy, but would not have been intuitive enough for me to figure out on my own. Bruce gave me a useful demonstration of the camera which save me some clumsiness later. It is very easy to use, but all field cameras have their tricks.

If you don't find one close by, take Bruce up on the offer and check it out in your house. I know he has them in stock because I saw them in his garage (assuming they have not sold in ~2 months). He said he just got in a large shipment of parts, about enough to assemble enough cameras for two years if I recall.

[Steve Hamley]

Thanks Jerold, that's useful information. I've noted the camera has a high "approval rating".

Cheers, Steve

[ljsegil]

Using my Wehman was a pleasure and Bruce's service was great, although I did ultimately switch to a Canham Traditional 8x10 for the extra and separable movements, format flexibility, and bellows extension. No regrets, but if I had to go back to the Wehman I could do so very happily. Two outstanding systems, both from great guys, no hesitation in recommending either.
Larry

[Steve Hamley]

Thanks Larry,

I'm only after light weight here, so the Wehman looks pretty good. I have a nice high end 8x10 for when the carry is short or non existant.

Cheers, Steve

[jeroldharter]

Thanks Larry,

I'm only after light weight here, so the Wehman looks pretty good. I have a nice high end 8x10 for when the carry is short or non existant.

Cheers, Steve

For lightweight, it is hard to beat the Wehman lightweight model. I have the regular one though because I wanted something that was reasonably light but built like a tank. The lightweight model is exactly the same but the aluminum skin has numerous holes drilled in it. It can be configured even lighter my removing the "cover" piece. That leaves the ground glass exposed but it is made of plexiglass and should not break. I don't know of other 8x10 camera that comes close in weight (maybe a Ritter which is much more expensive). You do lose some extension without that cover piece but you can still use a 450mm lens with no problem. For a 600 you would need the cover piece to get adequate bellows extension.

Couple the camera with a Feisol tripod and it is pretty portable. I think that the tripod and head are the wildcards for "light weight" though. It is hard to find a setup that weighs less than the camera and is stable enough. There is another recent thread about tripods and Wehman.

[Rus Lan]

Well, could any owner of the camera just post some close-up pictures of it? I am especialy interesting in the rear swing mechanism (pivots ets.)
Many thanks, Ruslan

[John NYC]

Well, could any owner of the camera just post some close-up pictures of it? I am especialy interesting in the rear swing mechanism (pivots ets.)
Many thanks, Ruslan

I just bought one and I really like it.

Have you looked at his website? Not sure how much more a close up would help as this is really all there is to it.

http://wehmancamera.com/instructinos...y/pages/06.htm

[Steve Hamley]

Here you go. The jpeg may be to big to display directly in the post, but it needs size for detail.

First, the standard lock is the knob that sticks out to the rear of the camera, like the focusing knob on a Phillips or Chamonix. Tighten this knob and everything locks (except the tilt of course).

With the knob on YOUR left (circled in green) tightened, the entire rear standard moves fore and aft conventionally to focus when the lock knob is loose and the knob on YOUR right (circled in red) is turned.

To use swing, you loosen the "green" knob, and when you then rotate the "red" knob, only the rack on YOUR right of the camera works, and the back swings. It does not have a conventional swing point like a bolt or shaft that the rear standard swings on.

Cheers, Steve

[John NYC]

It's one of those things that the more you read explanations about it, the harder it seems. But here goes. (Steve's picture is from the front of the camera, so I will not refer to that.)

When you are standing behind the camera, the geared focus knob is on your right. The focus lock knob is in the center and the swing lock knob is on your left.

Here is the easiest way I have found to work with it.

1. Loosen the center focus knob and make sure the left swing lock knob is tight.
2. Using the focus knob on the right, focus the camera.
3. While holding the focus knob tightly, loosen the swing lock knob. (If you don't hold the knob, the focus will move.)
4. Use your hands and manually move either or both sides of the camera back (they don't pivot on a point) to achieve the swing you want.
5. Hold the focus knob tightly and tighten the swing lock knob again. Again, if you don't hold the focus knob, tightening the swing lock knob will move the rear standard.
6. Do any adjustments to your focus. If you need to adjust swing, repeat steps three to five.
7. Turn the center focus lock knob tight to lock the focus.
8. Take your picture.